• Delegates face two-week suspension for flouting rules
The prohibition of foul language, reaching a consensus on issues and a requirement that resolutions can only be passed by two-thirds or 75 per cent of the delegates are some of the draft rules and procedures that have been released by the National Conference secretariat.
The rules, which were distributed to the delegates yesterday and will be deliberated and approved on Monday when they reconvene, also stipulate that where a resolution cannot be reached by a two-thirds majority, the delegates will be given an extra week to agree and pass a resolution on the issue.
A delegate, who gave THISDAY some key highlights of the conference guidelines titled, “National Conference Procedure Rules, 2014”, said delegates would also be required to affirm the indivisibility and sovereignty of Nigeria.
He further disclosed that delegates who wish to address the session must stick to issues that are relevant to the subject of discussion at a particular session. Where a new issue is to be tabled, delegates would be required to write to the secretary of the conference, it will be gazetted and shared to delegates at every sitting.
The guidelines, he said, also requires every member to be present at each session, but in the event of ill health, the delegate must write to the secretary to obtain permission to be absent.
Other rules include: A delegate risks being suspended for 14 days if found flouting the rules of proceeding of the conference.
• The federal government is also proposing to disallow members from addressing issues at hand without prior written notice to the chairman of the conference.
• Delegates are barred from assaulting or obstructing one another within the conference room or precincts of the conference room and or assaulting or obstructing any office of the conference while in the execution of his/her duty.
•No portion of these rules shall be suspended except by a vote of two-third majority of the delegates sitting and voting at the particular time.
•A delegate may only read short extracts from books or papers in support of his argument and may refresh his memory by reference to notes.
•A delegate must confine his contributions to the subject under discussion and may not introduce matters irrelevant thereto.
•It shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the conference has come to a conclusion.
•It shall be out of order to use offensive and insulting language during sittings either at plenary or in committees.
•No delegate shall impute improper motives to any other delegate.
•Delegates are prohibited from smoking or drinking on the floor of the conference.
•The use of mobile phones shall not be allowed during sittings.
•A delegate desiring to speak shall submit his name to the secretary on a paper to be provided and if called upon shall stand and address his observations to the chairman or the chairman of committee.
•All committees shall forward their reports to the secretary at the conclusion of its sitting.
•The secretary shall at her discretion determine when such reports of a committee shall be brought up at plenary for deliberation.
Also, a statement issued by the Assistant Secretary, Media and Communications of the secretariat, Akpandem James, said the rules would enable them to prepare for the debate, ratification and subsequent adoption on Monday when the plenary resumes.
According to the secretariat, when adopted by the delegates, the provisions would form the official rules of proceedings for the conference.
The statement also said a copy of the Constitution of Nigeria (1999) was made available to the delegates in keeping with the promise given during the inaugural sitting by the chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi.
According to James, “The Draft Rules and the 1999 Constitution have been ready since 6 this morning and we have made them available to the delegates to study.
“However, it is only a draft; it is going to be debated clause by clause by the delegates on Monday. If they (delegates) adopt it, then it becomes the rules guiding the conference.
“But if there is any clause they feel should be amended or rejected, then they will decide at the plenary on Monday.
“What we are trying to do as a secretariat is to make the delegates as comfortable as possible to ensure smooth proceedings throughout the conference."
Some of the delegates collected copies of the draft rules and the 1999 Constitution yesterday.
They also said they had also begun studying the voluminous reports of previous conferences that were given to them at their inaugural meeting on Tuesday.
Former Plateau Governor, Chief Fidelis Tapgun, who is a delegate to the conference, said the delegates were already studying copies of the rules of procedures for the plenary and the constitution.
Tapgun said the procedures would have to be debated and adopted first before the plenary could really commence business on Monday.
“The documents are the report of the Political Bureau and the past constitutional conferences set up by (Olusegun) Obasanjo, (Ibrahim) Babangida and (Sani) Abacha.
“We often see that committees are set up and nothing is done with their reports. But we think that this time around, the president is determined that we would look at all the past reports and put them in one paper that will be useful to this country,” Tapgun said.
According to him, the documents will be needed by the delegates as reference materials that would guide them in their proceedings.
“We are going to continue making references to them so that we are properly guided and not work at cross purposes.
“There were certain things that were raised in those reports that were not implemented in the past, which we feel if implemented, may help.
“We will also see their relevance and see if they are relevant to our present conference. We will see how we can raise them again,” he said.
Meanwhile, northern delegates to the conference yesterday agreed to appoint a former Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ibrahim Coomasie, and Prof. Jerry Gana as the co-chairmen of the Northern Delegates Forum.
After a closed-door meeting, which was chaired by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore, the delegates in a communiqué said though they recognised that the north is diverse in culture, ethnicity and religion, as well as the geographical, historical and political ties, they would “work in harmony for the overall interest of the geographical entity called the north”.
The appointment of Coomasie and Gana as co-chairmen was seen as the tactical coming together of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and the core north that make up the ACF.
According to the communiqué signed by Gana and Coomasie, the northern delegates said: “We reaffirm our desire and resolve to rekindle that spirit of togetherness, inclusivity and unity of purpose.”
They also agreed to work for the unity of the north at the conference and beyond.
The communiqué further said: “The northern delegates shall work as a united delegation engaged in the pursuit of common aspiration and establish an umbrella called the Northern Delegates’ Forum (NDF) under Alhaji Ibrahim Commasie and Prof. Jerry Gana and therefore shall work and collaborate at the conference for the common interest of the North.”
The communiqué said the NDF would reach out to other zones and groups with common aspirations with a view to solidifying the northern stand.
The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Public Accounts to investigate the alleged squandering of N10 billion over a two-year period on the arbitrary charter and maintenance of a Challenger 850 aircraft for unofficial use by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The House also mandated its Committee on Natural Gas to scrutinise the non-remittance of funds accruing from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) to the Federation Account from 2004 to date.
Both committees were given three weeks to conduct their probes and submit their reports to the House.
The House’s decision on the private jet charter and unremitted funds by NLNG was based on a motion brought by Hon. Samuel Babatunde Adejare (APC, Lagos).
Acting on what it termed reliable evidence, the House said it learnt that Alison-Madueke had allegedly sunk at least N3.120 billion into the maintenance of a private jet dedicated to the service of herself and her family.
A breakdown of the money, according to Adejare, showed that the sum of 500,000 Euros (N130 million) was spent every month on the maintenance of the airplane, which amounts to N3.120 billion for the two years in question.
He noted that in recent weeks, Nigerians had “experienced acute fuel shortage due to dwindling revenue, which have reduced the quality of governance and deprived the people of dividends of democracy”.
He said the lower chamber of the National Assembly was not unaware that part of the money for the maintenance is spent on payments of allowances to the plane’s crew, hangar parking and rent based on a lease agreement.
Continuing, Adejare added: “This colossal waste is currently estimated at N10 billion which includes the payment of allowances to the crew for the trips, hanger parking and rent based on the lease agreement.
“If government is bankrolling this waste in the face of ever dwindling public resources, it amounts to a misplacement of priorities, impudence and breach of public trust.”
Submitting that the minister's action contravenes the “Fiscal Responsibility Act and all other laws on fiscal discipline”, Adejare further cited Section 82 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution “which empowers the National Assembly to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it”.
Defending the use of a private jet by the minister, a ministry source told THISDAY yesterday that traditionally all petroleum ministers have always flown with planes belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
However, he said that Alison-Madueke had been forced to charter private aircraft because one of the planes operated by NNPC had aged considerably, while the other, a newer aircraft, was involved in a crash recently and had not been fixed.
Besides, he said the minister restricts her use of private jets to local trips while all her international trips are by commercial flights.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was also convinced that the funds accruing to the NLNG Bonny have not been remitted to the Federation Account from 2004 to date, thus seriously affecting “all critical sectors of the Nigerian economy”.
Also contributing to the debate, Hon. Aminu Suleiman (APC Kano) said Section 162 (1) of the 1999 Constitution makes it mandatory for all revenue collected by the Government of the Federation to be remitted into the Federation Account.
He elaborated that Section 162 (10) of the constitution defines revenue as “any income or return accruing to or derived by the government of the federation".
The source of this, according to Suleiman, includes any receipt, howsoever described arising from the operation of any law, any return, howsoever described, arising from or in respect of any property held by the Government of the Federation; and any receipt by way of interest on loans and dividends in respect of shares or interest held by the Government of the Federation in any company or statutory body.
He said: “But NLNG Bonny, in flagrant disobedience and breach of Section 162 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, has not remitted funds accruing to it to the Federation Account form 2004 to date.”
This development, he added, “has adversely affected the Federation Account to the detriment of federal, states and local governments.”
Source: Thisday
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